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ISA Answers Lake County’s Request For Help In Writing Sign Ordinance
The Lake County, Illinois Planning Commission staff had been so impressed by the technical expertise, information and assistance our association provided to them when they redrafted their entire sign code in 2002, we were once again asked for assistance.
On April 17, Duane Laska of North Shore Sign, Mike Mallon of Time O Matic, and ISA Executive Director Brian Swingle met with Lake County staff and had a detailed discussion of their proposed Electronic Message Board ordinance. ISA followed up the meeting with written comments as requested by staff the following week. The ordinance then was introduced to the Lake County, Illinois Planning and Zoning Committee on May 1, which voted unanimously in favor of forwarding the proposed “Electronic Message Center” ordinance to the full County Board with the recommendation it be adopted as submitted.
“The staff submitted a draft that included all of our recommendations save one- the measuring of "brightness" will stand as proposed by the county staff, but subject to change once better language can be obtained from the sign industry (Illinois Sign Association). We are currently seeking information from our industry experts on a standard for brightness for EMCs,” commented Duane Laska.
In a letter from the association to the County, Swingle explained, “technology is providing improvements and innovations in signage. Use of Electronic Message Centers (EMC) in signage is increasing with these advances, market availability, and return on investment for the customer. New technologies and media will continue to evolve in signage and it is imperative to account for these trends and advancements in writing an ordinance that will not be outdated tomorrow.”
As with an ever-increasing number of sign-governing interests wanting to ban moving displays or streaming video, Swingle continued with the recommendation, “With the improvements in LED, LCD and plasma technology, a sign face area, which may have consisted of printed graphics, channel letters, etc, can now be displayed with these advanced “picture” technologies. Basically a “still” photograph using a display of colored lights replaces a solid graphic or screen print sign.”
Additional recommendations from us were to increase the face area of the sign allowed for the EMC and to increase the proposed maximum height of the EMC component of the freestanding sign from eight feet to twelve feet, “…to prevent a sign being obscured by traffic or parked vehicles. A sign needs to be clearly visible to an observer driving a vehicle to improve traffic safety. You also should take into account that a sign’s foundation may be located several feet below the road’s surface height. We recommend that the maximum height be at least twelve feet. Increasing the allowable height of the EMC component will improve visibility.”
Additionally, “In lieu of the enforcement provision of “undue brightness will be construed to mean illumination in excess of that necessary to make the sign reasonably visible to a person with 20/20 vision at a distance of 100 feet from the sign,” our recommendation is to address this is to require an automatic dimmer on EMCs, as is proposed in the ordinance. An automatic dimmer is the best technology available to increase light intensity on sunny days and decrease intensity on cloudy or during nighttime hours. These intensities are set for maximum visibility without undue glare. You must take into account the speed of travel when dealing with sign visibility. The 20/20-100 feet limitation may be sufficient for a pedestrian standing 100 feet from a sign, but does not account for vehicular traffic and speed of travel for visibility. We are researching this issue further and will provide additional information when it is available.”
The original proposal by the County was to limit EMCs to only two colors. “Due to the advances in sign technology and medium available as aforementioned and the rationale provided,” ISA commented, “we recommend eliminating the limitation to two illuminated colors being displayed at any given time. By limiting the content of messages to only two colors, the county is limiting expression. This is content based, and color is very important in communications. Content-based restrictions in sign ordinances are a First amendment violation. It also raises a concern with trademark law. Many trademarks use more than two colors. To the extent those marks are displayed on an EMC, the restriction could be a violation of Federal law. See Blockbuster Videos, Inc. V. City of Tempe, 141 F.3d 1295, 1296 (9th Cir. 1998).)”
To insure use of emerging technologies, we recommended, “The definition of “Animated Sign” should not be amended as proposed. The existing definition is correct and appropriate for the purpose of the ordinance and proposed changes. Eliminating video, television plasma screens and holographic displays prevents these technologies from being utilized in signage when the display id “fixed”, or not in motion. The existing definition and ordinance prohibits this medium to be used to display movement or depict action, which is the original intent. The intent is not to limit the medium used to display the message, only how the medium nay display the message.”
Duane Laska, Illinois Sign Association member, Central Sign Council Representative, and Regional Director for International Sign Association, gave testimony at the Planning, Building and Zoning Committee of the Lake County Board on May 1. Mr. Laska stated that even the County Board member who had mentioned to Mike Mallon of Time-O-Matic at a previous meeting "....that he did not like those type of signs......" voted in favor of the amendments.
Laska commented, “Lake County serves as the main resource for all of the local communities within the county. This is a good example of why strong state and regional associations (where there are no state associations) are so vital to the sign industry. Often the State Associations are the "front line" in the battle against restrictive legislation, and we need them to be active, strong and supported.”
The Illinois Sign Association expressed appreciation to the International Sign Association for assistance through the input received from the Legal Resources Group, as well as the indirect assistance that was most assuredly a part of the success. In a letter to Lori Anderson, President and CEO of International Sign Association Swingle wrote, “Duane Laska and I agree that we were able to be much more effective, because of the background legislative information that we have obtained through International over the years. As in the ongoing Village of Berkeley case which Thomas Claus and Douglas Bragg have also served us so well, we appreciate and need your continued support to keep fighting the good fight.”
Swingle commented on the ability to work successfully with local governments stating that, “The key to influencing these local units of government is for local sign companies to organize the local businesses and Chamber of Commerce since local businesses are the object of sign ordinances. They wield the political weight with local officials and have the most to gain or lose. Our association along with the local sign companies can then offer assistance through educational and informational materials. We can help all of the parties to make an educated and well-informed decision, but it helps if the effort is organized on the local level.”
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New 2007 Sign Design Contest results and pictures!
Illinois Sign Association Scholarship and Education Auction
Our auction is designed to be fun while raising funds for the Association’s educational and outreach programs that help our industry and sign users! The auction will be held at the ISA/CSC Show at the Hilton-Lisle/Naperville on July 31st , following the CSC Scholarship and Education Golf Outing.
Many popular and suggested items to donate include: sports memorabilia, tools, tickets for sporting events, shows, and weekend getaway packages. Certificates for golf, bird hunts, fine wine, gift certificates or gift baskets, equipment and supplies for sign companies.
Help support the continuing education of the sign industry by donating an item for the auction. Contact Brian Swingle at 414-529-4235 or bswingle@toriiphillips.com. Items can be shipped ahead of time if needed. The auction donation form is also available at www.isa-sign.com. Click here for auction donation form!
Join us for our next meeting
See our Fall 2006 meeting! & Join us for our next meetings!
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2007 Sign Design Contest!
*2006 ISA Sign Design Contest !
*2004 ISA Sign Design Contest !
*2003 Sign Design Contest!
* 2002 Sign Design Contest winners!
*2001 Winners of the Sign design contest !
*2000 Winners of ISA Sign Design Contest !
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2005 Fall Conference pictures and what happened!
NEON INSTALLATION GUIDE
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Limited numbers of copies are available, free of charge to the sign industry
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Gov. Blagojevich's proposal to increase the minimum wage to $7.50 per hour on July 1, 2007 was signed into law yesterday. The state minimum wage will increase by an additional 25 cents in each of the following three years to $7.75 on July 1, 2008, $8.00 on July 1, 2009 and $8.25 on July 1, 2010. The Illinois Dept. of Labor will be required to revise the "Notice to Employers and Employees poster that businesses are required to post. It will be available soon at the Illinois Dept. of Labor website http://www.state.il.us/agency/idol/Posters/poster.htm
Additionally, most of us receive solicitations to purchase an all inclusive poster including all of the state and federal required postings on one poster for about $45. If you don't want to pay for these posters, they are all available for downloading from the Illinois Dept of Labor's website given above. It's worth the 5 minutes or less it takes to print them all individually since you can always replace any individual posting if changes occur...and they have been occurring a few times per year.
Hope we can save you a few bucks and insure you are in compliance with required postings.
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